Green Pastures And Small Creeks

by Lura Langenback

Psalm 23:2
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.".

There are many, many verses in the bible that give a feeling of comfort
and peace but this one seems to bless us beyond that by showing a
picture of heaven, yet this is on earth. We know that because later in the
psalm, it talks about enemies near us. That cannot be in heaven. There
are no enemies there.

An immediate picture of the country comes to mind. You are walking in a
field of grass with trees on a cool, breezy summer day. The light wind is
just enough, not too much. The grass is so green and soft, you could lie
down and take a nap or run your feet through it. It is so quiet that you
hear the birds singing and the crickets chirping. There are no sounds of
the city, no traffic at all. Slowly, you sit under a tree, lean back and just
enjoy the day. The breeze blows quietly through the leaves of the tree,
making the smallest rustle. With reverence, you whisper because you do
not want to disturb the solitude. This is truly a place of God, His
workmanship. And just how do you know that? Because there is Peace.
Do you feel that peace when you think of this place?

He leads me beside the still waters. Think about that creek or small river
running through the meadow, quietly moving along. You sit next to it,
putting your hand into the water. Its so cool and refreshing that you just
have to dip some out to taste it. With your hand still wet, water dripping
everywhere, you bathe your forehead. The coolness of it is felt
immediately and you are refreshed again. Does this whole scene sound
glorious, peaceful, beautiful?

In the new covenant, we are told we have a well of water springing up
inside of us (John 4:14) and that there is also a river of living water
coming out of our bellies (John 4:37-38). The Lord uses water to show us
the Holy Ghost as you will see when you read the next verse: "He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified)" The still waters are a type of
the Holy Ghost in this verse. In John 14:27, Jesus tells us that He is giving
us His Peace, not the worlds peace. That peace is temporal, corruptible,
not stable. But the Peace of God passes ALL understanding, keeping our
hearts AND minds through Christ Jesus (Phil 4:6) One more thing here. Let
us translate those Greek words. The word "Christ" is a Greek word that
means "The Anointed One and His Anointing" so we read it that way. "The
Anointed One" Jesus makes a lot more sense when you read it in English.

So what are we saying then? God will put us in a place of Peace, HIS
Peace, even in a time of trouble. The first verse declares that the Lord is
my Shepherd. That means that He is the leader, Master. We are to follow
His lead because He knows where we are going and we do not. He
promises, through this verse, to lead us into a quiet, restful place, even in
the midst of trouble.

Ps. 32:7 declares "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah." SSo if your hiding place is not a meadow or a grassy place, then wherever
you go for the peace, please think on that now. Also, please remember
that God has not written this psalm for death. There is NO death in these
verses. The world has grabbed hold of the words "Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." to mark death in the
verse. That could not be farther from the truth. We will discuss this later
in the study on that verse, but one thing you need to notice and
meditate on as you read this whole psalm. It says that you are walking
THROUGH the valley of the SHADOW of death. It isn't death, its a
shadow. Not stop and visit, walk THROUGH it. You are passing it by. This
psalm is for the peace of God to be planted deep into your spirit, showing
you that the stress of this world is NOT your heritage in the Lord, not
your inheritance.

If you have not made Jesus Christ (remember to translate..the Anointed
One and His Anointing) the Lord of your life, now is a good time. This age
is fast coming to a close. Jesus is soon to return. When He does, it will be
too late. Please take this opportunity to talk to the Lord Jesus right now
and tell Him that you want to be a part of His family. After that, go read
your bible each day and see what God has to give to you. A good place
to start is in the new testament, the book of John. Pray to God for
understanding, and find a good church home.